Annapolis could be covered in over six feet of water in the next century.

Annapolis could be covered in more than six feet of water in the next century, so the city needs to prepare before historical buildings are ruined.

That was the message of oceanographer John Englander, who met with The Capital Thursday.

"It changes the shape of the map," he said. "What's going to be land and ocean?"

Englander is a consultant and the author of "High Tide on Main Street: Rising Sea Level and the Coming Coastal Crisis." He is in Annapolis this week to deliver a free lecture on how rising sea levels will impact Annapolis and the greater Chesapeake region.

He said waterfront cities like Annapolis should embrace "intelligent adaptation" now — building sea walls, raising building height and/or moving them further away from the shoreline — in anticipation of "inevitable" sea level rise.

Water is Annapolis’ greatest asset — and threat. Between 2007 and 2013, the city averaged 39.3 days per year with nuisance flooding, a national leading 925 percent increase.

The problem is a matter of both prevention and crisis management.

"If the world went 100-percent solar today, we would still have sea level rise," he said, "(But) if we don't slow the warming, the sea level will rise quicker."

Another threat to coastal living is stronger storms, Englander said. Last weekend's blizzard, which dumped about two feet of snow on the region, could have caused serious flooding had it been high tide.

Annapolis has the largest increase of nuisance flooding events since data was collected between 1957 to 1963, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Courtesy photo / Capital Gazette

John Englander is a consultant and the author of "High Tide on Main Street: Rising Sea Level and the Coming Coastal Crisis." He is in Annapolis this week in part to deliver a free public lecture on how rising sea levels will impact Annapolis and the greater Chesapeake region.

John Englander is a consultant and the author of "High Tide on Main Street: Rising Sea Level and the Coming Coastal Crisis." He is in Annapolis this week in part to deliver a free public lecture on how rising sea levels will impact Annapolis and the greater Chesapeake region. (Courtesy photo / Capital Gazette)

Mayor Mike Pantelides said combating flooding is a priority, including improving storm drains that back up. He has requested $1 million from the state for flood mitigation, but even if approved, it could take up to eight years to implement, he said.

The city has a Historic Preservation Tax Credit of 25 percent for expenses related to preservation, restoration and rehabilitation.

Lisa Craig, the chief of historic preservation, said the threat of rising sea levels will "change the landscape."

"Our historic district is important. It's our bread and butter," she said. "I don't think we can wait until there's some big event."

After a December fire, the Annapolis Yacht Club is still being reviewed by structural analysts to determine what is salvageable. Club leaders may find themselves confronted with questions that Englander said all downtown businesses will have to face eventually: Should we move? Should we elevate the facility?

Debbie Gosselin, the commodore of the club, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Pantelides said insurance companies may offer incentives to businesses like the yacht club to make preparations for rising water.

"There are private forces that will push them there," he said.

Outside Annapolis, rising sea levels are affecting hundreds of coastal communities. Englander warns residents they shouldn't count on the federal government to bail them out.

"There's not enough money in the world," he said.

Weather it together

John Englander, oceanographer, author and president of the International Sea Level Institute will deliver a lecture on Saturday on the global and local impacts of rising sea levels. The event will take place at 4 p.m. at the Francis Scott Key Auditorium at St John's College at 60 College Ave. The lecture will be following by a reception and book signing. The event is free and open to the public. RSVP to histpres@annapolis.gov or call Shari Pippen at 410-263-7961. The lecture is the first in a series in celebration of Preservation50, recognizing the 50th anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.